The Daytona Beach Kennel Club and Poker Room recently built a brand new structure just down the road from the old one. Gone is the old school track and seedy poker room. The new and improved complex now sits at the intersection of I-95 and I-4 and features more tables, a cleaner card room, a much nicer dog track, more simulcast screens and a considerably nicer bar and dining area.
On a recent trip to Daytona, I had some time to kill so I figured I’d pay the new poker room a visit, check out the surroundings and hopefully take down a big pot or two in the process. I’ve been having significantly better results at cash games than tournaments lately, so I opted for the $1-$2 no limit table. Besides, the only sit-n-go they offered at the time was a $120 buy-in, six person tournament with prize money for first place only. Not exactly the odds I was looking for.
I sat down at Table 3 where eight other players had already gathered with the largest stack to my immediate right. After watching a couple of hands, no player seemed über-aggressive, although it was still way too early to get a definitive read on anybody.
About six hands in, I became the small blind. Five players ahead of me called. Since the person to my left hadn’t made a move since I took my seat, I guessed he likely wouldn’t raise from the big blind. For an extra dollar, I saw the flop with a J-5 off suit, a hand I obviously wouldn’t play otherwise.
Now here comes the tricky part.
The flop came J-8-5 with two of the cards being clubs. As I was in the small blind and first to act, I fired away with what I felt was a reasonable value bet: six dollars. I didn’t necessarily want to take down the pot right there, I just wanted to know what I was up against. Someone sitting on two clubs was likely to chase the flush, but probably not re-raise. And although two pair was a nice flop in that situation, it was still vulnerable to several hands, including an AJ, KJ, or Q-J if any one of those higher cards hit on fourth street or the river. Two players behind me called with neither raising. With this information, I put one of my opponents on top pair (or possibly a straight draw since I had one of the Jacks) and assumed the other one was waiting out the flush.
The next card was a three of clubs, so whoever was waiting on that club flush had my two pair dominated. To see which of them had made their flush, I put out another, minimal six dollar bet. The next bettor re-raised to fifteen dollars. The third player folded, leaving only me in the hand to call the nine dollar raise. It was a minimal raise so I figured the bettor had either made his flush, but a small one, or was bluffing to see if I had it.
I absolutely live for these hands, particularly when they’re misplayed by my opponent. For another nine dollars, I had one more cheap opportunity to pair either one of my two cards and sink him with a full house. Needless to say, I called.
The river brought another Jack, giving me my boat. I did my best to keep a stoic poker face. I had him crushed. Having only recently sat down at the table, I unfortunately hadn’t seen enough of this player to know how much of a bet he’d call. Was his raise a bluff? Had he made his flush? If so, how powerful a flush was it? I had sat down at the table only minutes earlier with $100 and had about seventy of that left. He had a touch more than that. For some reason I felt had I gone all in, he might not have called and I wanted to extract as many chips as possible. With his minimal raise on fourth street, I put him on a flush but not necessarily the nut flush, meaning he didn’t have the ace of clubs, more likely the king or queen. Otherwise he would have pushed harder with his initial raise. So how much would he call?
I fired $30 at the pot, obviously hoping for a re-raise. My opponent thought long and hard, taking his time. He made a mini-move to muck his hand perhaps looking to get some information out of me, then ended up calling, having a feeling he was beat, which he was. I showed my hand, he mucked his. He looked at me, wondering how I could play a J-5, but probably more upset with himself for not betting harder on the turn to shake me off the hand. He actually got up and left the table.
In retrospect, did I play this hand correctly? I think so. Given the limited information I had, I honestly think a stronger river bet would have scared him off, minimizing my gain. Keep in mind, the objective is not just to win the hand but to get as many chips out of your opponents as possible, as shrewdly as possible. After the flop, there was no telling I would have made my full house and I got to see the rest of the hand pretty cheap. When his flush hit on fourth street, with four outs to make my boat, I was a definitive underdog. My intention throughout the hand was to stay in long enough to see the last two cards as cheaply as possible, then punish my opponent if I hit on the turn or the river. After my second six dollar bet, had my opponent come back with an all-in bet or with a raise significantly larger than nine dollars, I would have had to think twice about calling. My decision would have depended on my stack, what I knew about my opponent and how I felt about the hand. In that particular hand, I was feeling frisky and liked my chances at pairing the board, so I probably would have called a larger raise in that situation, but perhaps not an all-in. Fortunately, his re-raise was minimal, pot odds clearly warranted a call and he ended up paying for it.
There are several correct (and incorrect) ways to play two pair on the flop, particularly with two suited cards or a straight draw on the board. I’ve found mid-sized wagers often prevent opponents from coming over the top and are a good way to see an extra card cheaply. If you’re faced with a heavy raise after your initial bet, you can then make your decision based on the facts in front of you. But a full house can be a huge money maker when it runs into a made flush, since they’re difficult to spot. Remember, the objective is to use the information you know about your opponents, their hand and their betting style and then figure out how much you’re willing to risk hitting that boat on the river for a monster payout.
Keywords: poker
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